In some places in Poland the cake is known as kremówka (roughly translated as "cream cake"), in others, it is called napoleonka.[6] This Polish "war" between names kremówka and napoleonka has been subject to a satirical drawing by the Polish illustrator Andrzej Mleczko.[6]
The cake itself is a variation of mille-feuille[7][8] – a French dessert made of three layers of puff pastry filled with cream or jam – also known as the Napoleon.
Sometimes kremówkas containing alcohol are sold. These became popular particularly in the aftermath of a false story that Pope John Paul II was fond of that variant.[9][10] In fact, the Pope was fond of the traditional kremówka.[11][10]
Papal cream pie
On 16 June 1999 pope John Paul II mentioned that after he had completed his matura exam, he had kremówkas with his colleagues in his home town of Wadowice. They wagered who could eat more. The future Pope ate eighteen kremówkas but did not win the bet.[10]
And there was a cake shop. After the matura we went for kremówkas. That we survived that all, those kremówkas after the matura....
This was publicized by media, and "papal" kremówkas from Wadowice became popular in Poland.[9][11][10]
The confectionery shop where the Pope ate kremówkas was owned by Jewish cake maker Karol Hagenhuber, who came to Poland from Vienna.[10] It was located in Wadowice Town Square.[10] Some speculated that the original papal kremówkas contained alcohol, but this was denied by Hagenhuber's son.[10] According to him his father's cakes were regular, non-alcoholic kremówkas, although made with all natural ingredients, using a traditional recipe.[10] Either way this led to renewed, and even international fame for the cake, rebranded as "papal".[9][11][10]
In 2007, to celebrate Pope John Paul's II 87th birthday, a giant kremówka was baked in Rzeszów.[13]
Kremówkas remembered by Pope John Paul II were filled with cream made of whipped butter mixed with crème pâtissière made of whole eggs.[14] This is the typical fillng for karpatka.
^For the purposes of this article, it is assumed that any boiled cream made of milk kissel enriched with egg yolks (or whole eggs) qualifies as crème pâtissière.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Napoleonka.
^ abcdeFlis, Krystyna; Procner, Aleksandra (1985). "Wyroby z ciasta francuskiego (entry: "Napoleonki"". Technologia gastronomiczna z towaroznawstwem: podręcznik dla technikum. Część 2 (in Polish) (Wydanie XVIII, 2009 ed.). Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne SA. p. 179. ISBN978-83-02-02862-5. caution: the source uses the word "napoleonka", there is no mention of the word "kremówka".
^ abJan Paweł II, Polska 1999. Przemówienia i homilie, Warszawa: Katolicka Agencja Informacyjna; Marki: "Michalineum", 1999, ISBN83-7019-226-2, p. 247.
